Your Precious Land

ISU's Duffy Asks "Have Iowa Farmland Values Reached the Top?"

Whether or not farmland is in a bubble or have topped out has been a popular question for the past four years. Land values have roared higher as people attempted to answer the question. But now it we are seeing real weakness in portions of the Midwestern market -- primarily in Iowa and southern Minnesota where growing conditions have been especially difficult this year. Meanwhile, farm incomes are expected to decline in 2014 and possibly beyond. With that backdrop in mind, Iowa State University Extension Economist Mike Duffy takes a long look at whether or not farmland values have topped. Click here to read his analysis.

Hint: Farmland values have probably topped out for now. How far they far is another question. It looks like the market is positioned for a correction, which it can handle, rather than a full-scale collapse like the market experienced in the 1980s and the 1920s-30s.